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elisaphoenix13 · 2 years

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Somebody To Love (Ch.1)

Harley had been doing his research for a week and the deadline was coming up and he was starting to panic a little. Valentine's day was coming up and he wanted to spend the day with William without being too cheesy about it. Of course the day itself was cheesy enough as it was but he still wanted to do something special for his boyfriend. Nothing too extravagant. William liked quiet and relaxing environments and activities...which wasn't a problem.

In fact he wasn't sure what the problem actually was.

Maybe it was the fact that it would be their first Valentine's as a couple.

But he eventually got so flustered with his laptop screen glaring brightly at him and with brochures and flyers of ideas all around the room, that he word vomited to Stephen when his mother came to check on him. He had been locked in his room so often that the man had started to worry, but when Harley told him of his worries, he merely smiled and sat down with him to help.

Now that Valentine's Day was here, Harley had to coax William down to the car without giving too much away. When he held out a blindfold, the younger teen looked at him warily.

"Is this really necessary?" He asks.

"Come on. Just for a few minutes, I promise." Harley nearly begs.

"If you drive fast or anything like that, I'm going to teleport back home." William sighs as he takes the blindfold and puts it on.

"I'll be careful." Harley promises and then closes the door and walks around to get into the driver's seat.

As promised he drove carefully to the location of the activity he had planned for them and was pleased to see that there weren't very many people there. He specifically planned it so that William would be comfortable with less people around. He found a place to park and got out to help William out, and carefully led him closer before taking off the blindfold.

When William saw the ice rink before him, he turned to look at Harley with a frown. "Harles...I don't know how to ice skate."

"That's okay. I don't really know either. Just enough to keep myself standing."

William looked back at the rink with a look of trepidation, and just when Harley was beginning to think this had all been a terrible idea, the younger finally nodded and started walking over to the rental booth. Harley had to keep himself from audibly sighing in relief as he followed his boyfriend and they got their skates.

Putting them on took a little longer than expected since Harley rarely went ice skating and William had never been, but they eventually got them on and carefully made their way to the rink. They both had a laugh over how silly it felt to walk over to it on skates, and when they finally hit the ice... William wasn't the one to fall.

Harley wasn't even sure how it happened. One moment he was adjusting to the new surface, and the next, he was sprawled on his back and William was on top of him with wide eyes. He must have pulled the poor guy down with him.

"...I did that on purpose." Harley says and William snickers.

"You clearly just wanted to make me feel better about my inexperience." He says and carefully stands, helping Harley up once he has balance. "Well at least I know how to stand."

"We'll look stupid together and in an hour we'll be pros!" Harley exclaims and leads the way by starting with small movements.

"If Thomas were to ever see this, I would never hear the end of it."

"Same with Peter...let's just not tell them."

William laughs in agreement and allows Harley to lead him around the rink while holding his hand. The small movements slowly grew into confident slides, and soon enough, they were coasting around the ice rink just enough that they weren't hindering any of the other people.

It was nice to do something relaxing like this. There weren't many people, it wasn't too loud yet, and William even looked at peace. The cold air was quickly making the younger's nose turn red from skating around in the cold air, and his ears were starting to follow. They skated around for about another hour before they finally stepped off the rink -- or in Harley's case, fell -- and awkwardly stepped over to an available bench to change back to their regular shoes.

"Ugh...this is going to take a minute to get used to." William says after he ties his shoes and stands up. "I feel like my ankles have lifted weights."

"It just takes a couple minutes." Harley replies and takes the skates back before taking William's hand again and leading him over to a vendor selling hot chocolate.

He gets two with extra whipped cream for William's and marshmallows for his own, and they walk over to a different bench to sit and warm up with their drinks.

"You didn't have to do this, you know." William says softly after a few sips.

"Yeah, maybe, but you're special to me. I feel like you should have at least one Valentine's Day doing something out in the city." Harley smirks at him. "I promise from next year on we'll stay at home and cuddle while watching movies."

William blushes. "Don't make fun of me."

"I'm not. But we do that a lot already, so I decided today would be a little different but at your pace."

"I appreciate it Harley... really. Thank you."

Harley smiles. "Besides, it gives us some peace from the chaos back home."

William snorts and drinks the rest of his hot chocolate, and Harley holds out his hand for the cup. When the younger teen hands it over, Harley gets up and takes them over to a trash bin to toss them in before returning back to William.

"The rest of the day is your decision. If you want to stay out, we'll stay out and find something to do. If you want to go home, we'll go home." Harley tells him and watches William ponder his options.

"I want to go to the north pole." William finally says and laughs when Harley blanches. "I'm kidding. Let's go find someone selling hot pretzels and we'll go home. Watching movies and cuddling sounds perfect right now. I'm starting to not be able to feel my toes."

Harley smiles. "Sure." He leans forward and gently pecks William on the lips. "Love you."

"...love you too." William answers with a bright red blush.

#mama bear au #harliam #harley keener #william kaplan #billy kaplan

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funkylittlebidiot · 3 years

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content

This is a homage to Harley Keener - specifically from @elisaphoenix13 AU. I love him. 💕 The thing with Harley is… he's content.

He's comfortable where he is. He loves his family and home. He has a few friends to hang out with at school and a bunch of siblings at the tower. He's quickly grown to like his new life.

But still, there was the cloud of his past looming over him, like a wave of smoke keeping him down.

It wasn't as constant as it used to be; the happy days definitely outweighed the bad. Yet it was still there, nonetheless.

Hence, content.

Mind you; he's never really been one of those vibrant kids anyway, those children who constantly chattered and joked. Nor had he been the gloomy kind, hiding away in the shadows or whatever.

He'd always just been, so maybe the content thing was less about the perfect balance between grief and happiness and more about who he was as a person.

Harley guessed he could be described as apathetic, though that wasn't quite right either, as he knew he cared. He cared about the people around them. Needed them to be happy.

It often felt like he cared more about other people's happiness than his own. Maybe, that's why he just felt content. Never really chasing his own enjoyment.

He messed around to pass the boredom and get a laugh out of his brother or dad. He tinkered and did his homework to get his mind occupied. He listened to Peter whine and Dia boss him around.

Whenever he did do something for himself, it was reading a book, hidden away in a deserted alcove on the fifty-first floor - or when he was really pampering himself, at the coffee shop three blocks away. He guessed that counted as a distraction as well, but he genuinely enjoyed getting lost in his favorite stories.

No one knew about his love for reading, though. Harley wasn't sure why. He wasn't trying to hide it… it just seemed like something purely for Harley, something private.

Anyway, Harley was content with his life; his own happiness derived from the people around him.

The latest addition to his life would have tipped the scales towards actual happiness if it wasn't for the fact that, like everything else in his life, his relationship with William was perfectly balanced.

Yes, being around him made him happy. It made his chest feel ten times lighter, and butterflies dance around his stomach. It made him giddy, and his cheeks hurt from smiling.

But even then, it also made him miss him - even from two feet away. His lungs ached because of the distance between them, his mind was occupied with his smile, and his hand itched to hold his.

And because he cared more about other people's happiness than his own - especially when it came to William, though he refused to admit this - Harley couldn't take the risk and chase after what he wanted.

He wanted them to be more, wanted to take the gamble, and see where it would lead, but he knew he would mess it up eventually. Harley wouldn't ever want to do anything to make William uncomfortable or ruin William's chances at feeling part of their family. Because what if William would end up hating him so much that he'd prefer to leave than be around Harley?

Harley would rather leave, himself, than put William through that.

Or better yet, not try at all. Wait out those pesky feelings and try to enjoy the happy moments without the complications of his stupid crush.

So once again, the scales balanced out.

Still, everything felt heightened around William, especially since it was close to one in the morning, sitting in the family floor's dark living room. His mind was already foggy at the edges, but he was still clearly more awake than William, who was sitting way too close for Harley's liking - yet also not close enough, fucking dammit.

Brown eyes - black in the darkness of the night - blinked tiredly up at him, and it made it hard for Harley to focus on anything else.

They were still talking, but Harley had a hard time keeping track - about the movie, about their respective plans for tomorrow, about something Thomas had said, etc.

It took a while to register the silence that had fallen between them, William's eyes fixed on something on the far wall. Harley assumed he wasn't really seeing anything, instead just fighting against his exhaustion. His lips were pulled into a tiny, content smile, Harley couldn't help but notice, and it caught his attention for longer than was probably necessary.

Then, William yawned and shifted, leaning back against the couch's cushions, and the shift in position made it, so his head was right next to Harley's shoulder.

It felt right, perfectly natural, to reach out and tuck the strand of hair covering William's forehead behind his ear.

It was a small movement, but Harley still felt it as William pressed into the touch, humming in contentment as he dug more firmly into Harley's shoulder.

Harley watched him in awe, mesmerized by the boy pressed against his side as he allowed himself to lean into him as well.

The next thing he knew was waking up to sunlight streaming in through the floor to ceiling windows, covering the couch he was lying on in a golden glow.

It took his brain a minute longer to wake up fully, or at least to become aware of the warmth pressed against his side. It wasn't unusual for him to wrap himself around one of the extra giant pillows on his bed, but none of those pillows were this warm, nor did they move, shifting up and down steadily with each breath.

His hand was definitely on someone's spine - he could feel the familiar ridges of the vertebrae, the warmth of skin even through the fabric of a shirt, and the curve of a back - and it was hard to ignore the soft breathing tickling his neck. It wasn't difficult to figure out who that someone was.

Harley wanted to panic - he knew he should. He knew he had to try and extract himself without waking William and pretend nothing had happened in the first place. Yet, his body didn't want to cooperate.

He felt warm and comfortable, and William was so soft against him, all he wanted to do was fall asleep again. He somehow always smelt like rain and vanilla, and with his nose basically pressed into his hair, it was overwhelming.

Maybe this was okay, Harley pondered.

They held hands, too, after all. Ever since their first trip - it hadn't been a date no matter what Peter says - to the park; it had become natural for them. They both clearly didn't mind, so whenever they were walking somewhere together, their hands always found their way into each other's.

It didn't have to mean more than they allowed it to. By gods, Harley knew William was touch-starved, so it was easy to write it off as nothing more than two friends finding comfort and touch wherever they could get it. A mutual agreement.

Harley kind of felt like last night had been a catalyst for another such shift. William had sought out his touch subconsciously, and Harley was more than happy to abide, to give him whatever he craved.

Maybe this could become part of their new normal.

And so he followed his instincts; he sighed and held on tighter, burrowing his face further into William's dark hair, and reveled in the gentle thrill running through his veins.

He might have fallen asleep again, he wasn't quite sure, but it felt like barely a moment later that his comfort was ripped away from him.

Harley heaved when one of William's hands pressed onto his stomach in his haste to get off him. The minute it took him to catch his breath was all William had needed to crawl off the couch and stare at him in panic. His face was beet-red, and his eyes were huge as they bored into Harley's. He was holding onto his arms as if trying to hug himself in comfort, and Harley frowned in tired confusion as he watched him.

"Wha-"

"I'm sorry, I must have fallen asleep," he rambled, breaking their eye contact and shaking his head decidedly. "I shouldn't have -"

"Hey, it's fine, it's -"

"It won't happen again. I promise. I just- I'm sorry, I should go... I have to go."

Harley knew it was an excuse, but before he could argue, William had already blinked out of existence, like the entire night had been a dream.

Harley leaned forward and buried his face in his hands, groan echoing around the empty floor. How could he have been so stupid?

He shouldn't have given in, shouldn't have been so weak, ... shouldn't have wanted it.

He didn't know how long he sat there, questioning all his life choices, but Harley glanced up again when he heard a noise from the kitchen. He stood up to investigate - he and William should be the only ones awake already.

A voice was still nagging at the back of his head, making his skin bubble like swamp sludge, so he needed to shake it, to distract himself from what had just happened - to get his mind straight.

Maybe if he let it go, let William forget about it for a few hours, things would be alright again?

Still, William leaving worried him. The last time he'd let William walk away after a fight, he'd ended up in the hospital. Logically, Harley knew it was unlikely to happen again, but he still didn't like it. Harley needed to find him and apologize sooner rather than later.

But he wasn't sure what he'd be apologizing for.

He wasn't sorry - not really. He could apologize for wanting it - for having feelings that William didn't share - but that would mean admitting to having feelings in the first place. He still had plausible deniability, and that's all he had going for himself.

When he stepped into the kitchen, Harley was only mildly surprised to see Stephen and Val were already awake. Stephen was in the midst of making breakfast, and Val sat on the counter next to him - close to the strawberry bowl from which she sporadically stole some fruits.

William likes strawberries.

Harley scowled at his thoughts and took his regular seat at the kitchen table, resting his cheek on his hand as he watched his younger sister.

"What happened to the lazy day?" He asked, more out of a need for distraction than actual curiosity.

"Your sister didn't get the message," Stephen grumbled, back turned to Harley as he was stood at the stove making pancakes. "What happened to William?"

Stephen glanced back at him over his shoulder, sympathetic smile on his face. Apparently, their accidental sleepover hadn't gone unnoticed. Ducking his head to hide the blush that definitely did not exist, Harley ran a hand through his hair and refused to answer.

"You should go talk to him." Stephen's advice was ever so helpful.

Still, Harley knew he was right - and he really was worried about William running off again and getting himself into trouble - so he stood up, ignored the fantastic smell of pancakes, and headed downstairs.

By the time he got to William's bedroom, however, it was empty.

It was enough to set his skin boiling with anxiety, worry coursing through him. That's what he'd been afraid of, after all, wasn't it? That as soon as William found out about Harley's feelings for him, he'd leave.

That thought, combined with the memory of William in a hospital bed tied to an oxygen mask and the images of a house burning against a forest backdrop, was enough to have him panicking.

"FRIDAY? Where is William?"

"I'm not authorized to say."

"What?" The shock of FRIDAY's response was enough to distract him from his building panic. He stared up at the ceiling as if FRIDAY was an actual person to glare at. "How the hell not?"

"He asked me not to. He doesn't have the authority to block me from telling you if you insisted, but you also can't stop me from telling him when you're close to approaching him."

Fucking hell.

"Come on, FRIDAY! Aren't you on my side?"

There was no response. Harley grumbled.

Fine, if he was going to play dirty, so could he.

Instead of turning around and looking for the other teen - who clearly didn't want to be found - Harley stepped further into his bedroom. William couldn't stay away forever.

A cursory glance at William's bookcase showed he had plenty of stuff to entertain himself with. Taste in books was one of the things they had in common after all. One of the many things they could spend hours talking about. Harley shook those thoughts away - they were exactly what he needed to get out of his head by the time he would finally be able to apologize to William.

So he grabbed a book at random, which, as it turned out, was a novel Harley had read before but didn't mind reading again, and made himself comfortable on William's bed.

He promptly ignored how it smelled strongly of the other teen - the same scent he'd woken up to.

As much as he knew he had to get over it, he couldn't help but long for a scenario where William liked him back - where they'd be able to lie curled up to each other whenever they wanted. To be close and touch and talk without holding back. To be able to interact with his favorite person without the stabbing, ungrateful, needy pain in his chest begging for more.

Harley didn't know how long he'd been staking out William's bedroom. He hadn't dared to leave for lunch, and as he hadn't had breakfast, he'd texted Peter for food. Surprisingly Stephen had been the one to drop it off through a portal and hadn't said anything of it. Wanda had stopped by to chat when she'd walked past the open door and noticed him, and she'd laughed fondly at his misery before reassuring him it'll be alright and heading back out. But not before promising to try and convince William to come down if she'd bump into him.

He'd spend most of his day either reading or staring at the ceiling, lost in thought as he replayed the events of the previous night over and over again. Despite how tired he'd been, he still remembered William's smile vividly. Remembered every word that had made William laugh.

When the other teen finally did show up, it was as if Harley had conjured him with his mind. One minute he was staring out the window, thinking about the brown of his eyes and the harsh curve of his lips, the next, he was stood in front of him.

Harley pushed himself up from his elbows until he was sitting up, abandoning the book and not caring that he'd lose his page.

"Hi."

Despite having decided to show up finally, William still looked like a deer caught in headlights. His brown eyes were wide and uncertain, pupils carefully tracing Harley's movements, and his hands twitched at his sleeves. Harley felt like a single wrong movement would cause William to disappear again.

"Look," he started carefully, biting his lip and glancing away before quickly looking back at William to make sure he was still there. "I'm sorry if I did anything to freak you out. I don't -,"

He had to stop, not able to bring himself to say it. For some reason, he couldn't lie to William. For all he'd denied it to anyone over the last few months, he couldn't deny it any longer - not now it mattered most.

Gritting his teeth together, he sat up straighter, subtly trying to shake the tension from his shoulders. It didn't work, and energy was starting to buzz through his veins, causing a spark of annoyance that quickly fuelled him to get up from the bed entirely. He felt like pacing - anything to get rid of the anxiety bubbling under his skin - but didn't get around to it.

As William seemed to startle slightly at the movement, taking a step back - a step away from him.

It was enough - Harley immediately deflated, the energy leaving him as quickly as it had appeared. The feeling to move shifted into a need to sigh, and he did so, sending William a weak but hopefully comforting smile.

He usually was the one to talk, knew he was the one to bring William out of his shell - it was their dynamic. Yet, as so often when feelings were involved, Harley was speechless. He didn't know what to say - needed William to take the lead.

"Why did you leave?" He asked simply, bracing himself for whatever William would say. Whether he was just horrified or downright disgusted - betrayed, uncomfortable. Harley would be able to take it - probably. He'd be able to let it go, to move on, put their boundaries back to wherever William wanted them to be - as long as they could get past this conversation and return to being comfortable around one another.

William remained quiet for a long time, seemingly frozen and unable to answer himself. Harley's nerves got the best of him, and instead of waiting for William to answer, he started rambling - deciding that taking everything back was probably the best course after all. He couldn't - he couldn't remain this distant from William, couldn't risk leaving this broken forever.

"I mean, it's not like it meant anything, right?" And suddenly, lying was simple - desperation a powerful motivator. "It's just what we do, right? At the tower? It's just like with anyone else -"

Harley stopped- unable to continue as William let out a small noise - as if punched in the chest. He watched as William swallowed and glanced away from Harley, stubbornly staring at the bookcase in the corner, jaw tense. There was a watery glint in his eyes that Harley wasn't sure he'd imagined.

"What?" He frowned, confusion and worry pushing aside his own anxieties. "That was supposed to make you feel better! Why do you suddenly look worse - please don't be sad!"

Harley felt ridiculous for begging, but he couldn't take seeing William like that - couldn't take the idea that he'd been the one to cause it.

"No, it doesn't make me feel better, Harley!" William finally gritted out. His voice was thin, hoarse like it even pained him to speak.

Harley took a step back as if he'd been slapped - no punched in the stomach by Peter's super strength. He felt like crying himself, seeing the sadness in William's eyes, mixed with his own heart quietly shattering.

He reached out for him, and though he hesitated to push their boundaries even further, he couldn't stop himself from touching William's biceps in a plea for him to face him again. Just holding onto him comforted Harley to his core, and he hated himself a little bit more for it.

However, to his surprise, William didn't flinch away from the touch, didn't jump, and pull his arm back. Instead, he turned into the contact, pushing in closer as he finally turned to face Harley once more.

Their eyes locked; William's brown ones were teary and red-rimmed, but the intensity in them took Harley's breath away. "I wanted it to be special; I wanted to be special to you!" William's gaze softened, and Harley felt his lips part in surprise. His heart burned in his chest, but his brain was frozen - unable to process his words. "I want it to mean something."

His hand clenched around Williams's arm, using the touch to ground himself while his stomach felt like floating away.

Could it possibly be?

Could William really mean it like he thought he did?

William's gaze was starting to waver, looking less determined by the second. Harley noticed him clench his jaw and swallow, eyes still locked, and he started squirming against Harley's hold. Before he could pull away, however, Harley breathed out, deciding that it was now or never - that they'd already passed the point of no return.

He used his grip on William's arm to pull him closer, while his free right hand moved to cup William's cheek, and he pressed their lips together in sweet release.

William gasped lightly against Harley's mouth before melting into the kiss.

Every breath in the last two years had come to this - to feeling William breathe against him, the rush of adrenaline running through his head - dizzying him.

William's hand held onto his waist, pulling him impossibly closer, and Harley stroked his skin with his thumb as his hand shifted from William's cheek to the back of his head.

They leaned into each other, torsos as flushed together as possible as William's hands traced the arch of his back.

Harley lost himself in it - in the softness of William's mouth, the tongue caressing his, moving as one.

William was as familiar to him as breathing, and yet this perspective was utterly uncharted - every move, tilt and tick as unsuspected as the flicker of a flame.

Where William hated voicing what he needed, his body didn't have the same filter. It asked for more without pause, pressed deeper against him, and chased his lips whenever Harley tried to lean back. And Harley didn't know how to say no to him; thoroughly content to grant him whatever he wanted.

Eventually, Harley pulled back, cupping William's face between his hands to stop him from following.

William grabbed onto his elbows to steady himself as he blinked up at him as if waking from a dream and breathed a sigh at Harley's smile - a mix between bewilderment and peaceful awe. His cheeks were flushed a glorious pink, eyes wide and delighted, and Harley couldn't stop himself from leaning in once more to place a last peck on William's reddened lips.

"You are so special to me," Harley smiled, elation coursing through his veins at finally, finally being reunited with William. To finally be able to stop missing him and speak the words that had been safely locked away in his mind. "I knew it the moment I first saw you."

William's eyes sparkled, and instead of responding, his arms wrapped around Harley's waist again, pulling him closer as he buried his face in Harley's neck.

Harley smiled at the touch against the sensitive skin and desperately pulled William closer still.

William was the one to break their embrace this time, and Harley yelped in surprise when William hit his shoulder.

"What was that for?!" he glared at William in affront as he cradled his arm.

William's eyes had settled back to their usual steady brown. He still watched Harley with admiration, but it had gained an amused but frustrated gleam. "Why didn't you say anything!"

"Why didn't you?!" Harley yelled back, incredulously.

They grinned sheepishly at each other, but William's words awakened an earlier doubt.

He'd never said anything because even in moments he'd considered the possibility of William liking him back, he still hadn't wanted to risk it. No percentage would have convinced him to gamble away their relationship.

But also - and possibly more importantly - because part of him knew that even if William wouldn't hate him for having feelings for him, even if those feelings were returned,... he would eventually screw up.

"William?" He started, carefully catching William's eyes. He suddenly felt shy, like they hadn't just been kissing and weren't still standing impossibly close. William merely hummed in response, catching on to Harley's hesitation and tensing up as well. "What if I mess this up?"

William let out a breath, almost amused, and now it was his turn to touch Harley's cheek, forcing him to look back up at him.

"Harls, every time we've had even a minor fight, you always made sure to fix it as quickly as possible." His smile turned a little bashful as he continued, eyes fixed on the spot where his thumb rested underneath Harley's eyes. "If anything, I should probably learn to be more vocal about my worries... but I trust you more than anything."

Harley smiled, slightly reassured. "That would help, yes. You're super confusing at times."

William gaped, slapping him on the shoulder again as Harley started laughing. Harley pushed back, but quickly their play-fighting shifted into something more pleasant as Harley pulled William's lips against his once more.

#harliam #harley keener #harley keener x William kaplan #william stark-strange #william kaplan #marvel #mama bear au #fic #elisaphoenix #mama bear stephen strange #mama bear supreme

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funkylittlebidiot · 4 years

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inspired by the daily gif from the mama bear server!

#harliam #mama bear au #harley keener #im 3 #harley x william #billy kaplan #William kaplan #elisaphoenix13

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funkylittlebidiot · 4 years

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Harley: face it dude, you’ll never get a date; you’re just too ugly.

Thomas: I’d believe you if you weren’t crushing on my brother

Harley: how DARE YOU compare yourself to William?!

Thomas: we’re identical twins!!

#mama bear stephen #harley keener #harliam #harley x william #billy kaplan #tommy shepherd #im 3 #mcu #marvel #mama bear au

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funkylittlebidiot · 4 years

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So Cold

Every once in a while, a story possesses your soul to write itself. Always at the most inconvenient of times.

This is the first piece of writing in a while that I'm really happy about and I don't even feel like I can take credit - whichever demon it was that possessed me should get praised.

Have some hurt/comfort. Based on @elisaphoenix13 Mama Bear AU and the discord's Daily Drabble Prompt: 'there are two options: either tell mom or wait for mom to find out.'

“You’re still grounded from the last shit you pulled,” William frowned, almost incredulous. It was a good look on him, Harley thought, though that was stupid. He only looked pretty because he was always pretty, the incredulity had nothing to do with it.

Harley quickly wiped the smile from his face as William’s eyes still bore into his, waiting for a response, a confirmation that he wasn’t going to do anything stupid.

“Come on, he doesn’t have to find out,” Harley reasoned, “According to my percentages, he only knows about 91 percent of the crap we pull. As everything this year has come to light, it’s statistically likely this time might be the 9 percent!”

William’s frown - if possible - had deepened, his startled look shifting into pure ridicule. “That doesn’t even make any sense!”

“It does in my head,” Harley grinned. There was no denying the tug at the corners of William’s lips. “And my maths is better than yours!”

“Only because we’re not in the same year,” William grumbled, temporarily distracted by his grades and surprising competitiveness over them - which Harley had found out after Cassie had gotten a point above him on their chem quiz. He’d gotten all sulky and pinched-faced over it when he thought no one was looking - but Harley always was.

“But that’s not the point!” William quickly collected himself, flush sweeping over his cheekbones, “We all know there are only two options: tell mom or wait for mom to find out. If you even try I will go warn mom myself.”

“Ugh,” Harley sighed, falling back onto the couch and throwing his head back. “You’re so lame sometimes.”

He didn’t see how William’s face paled at his words, the color draining from his cheeks as his eyes widened slightly. Didn’t notice when his lips parted as if to protest, but no sound came out.

He only heard when William left, the elevator door sliding closed behind him. Tilting his head back down, he frowned in the direction of the closing doors. William hadn’t said anything as he’d left, which wasn’t necessarily weird - everyone went wherever and whenever they pleased - but there was something about the air that felt off.

He had just been about to ask William to watch a movie with him instead and found himself noticeably more disappointed that this plan had been thwarted than the previous one. He’d never really had much commitment for his pranks or mischief unless he was challenged - merely lacked a reason or person stopping his impulse. This time he had just wanted to complain, to whine about his unfair prison sentence, to mess around with William and watch the smile tug at his lips at his idiocy.

Now the penthouse was completely empty again, and Harley still wasn’t allowed to leave - not even to go after William and ask where he was going.

He was a little surprised that William had left in the first place. Usually, they would spend whatever time they could just the two of them - he wasn’t going to put too much thought into that - and this proved the perfect opportunity. Hadn’t he stayed behind for him? To keep him company?

Not that he’d asked to or had expected him to, but there didn’t seem to be any other reason why he hadn’t gone with everyone else. It made it even stranger that he’d left, as the tower was empty except for them.

Pouting slightly, he stood from the couch and slumped towards his room, falling onto his bed. No use suffering through these hours alone for nothing. He pulled his History textbooks closer and started reading.

He got through most of his homework for the weekend by the time the rest of the family returned. It was clear from the wave of sound that suddenly burst out from the living room, filling the penthouse with its usual laughter and yells, the undeniable presence in the air.

Harley wanted to go down and greet them, glad to finally have some distraction, but he figured he might as well finish the last two pages of his notes - no more than a half-hour work anyway.

He got distracted, however, by Stephen as he stepped into the room, Val on his hip as she sucked a toy into her mouth. Stephen stopped as he looked around the room, frowning at Harley. “Where’s William? I want to ask him to take Val for a moment while I prepare dinner.”

“Why don’t you check his room, then?”

“What’s going on?” Stephen asked, squinting at Harley in suspicion as he took a step further into the room. “Did you guys fight?”

“No, why would you think that?” Harley asked, not looking up from his notes. They hadn’t, had they? He glanced back up and caught Stephen’s knowing gaze, but he quickly changed the subject. “I can watch Val while I finish here.”

“Alright,” Stephen sighed, though he still seemed doubtful. He was distracted by pulling the toy from Val's mouth, but Harley had no doubt he’d inquire with William about whatever was going on later. Ugh, meddling parents. Everything was fine.

He dropped Val on the bed next to Harley, the toddler shifting closer to her brother and tugging at his sleeve as Stephen left the room. “Saw stars!”

“That’s nice, Val,” Harley’s answer was absentminded as he was still writing, but he was sure to send her a small smile.

She tugged his sleeve again, more insistent this time as her face twisted. “Tell Will?”

“William will be up soon, Val.” Even if he wanted to take Valerie down to see him now, he couldn’t as he was still barred from leaving the floor. So it wasn’t like he was avoiding William or anything. Besides, he still had to finish this page.

Valerie huffed, but as usual, she knew to be patient when needed. She simply grabbed one of Harley's spare pens sprawled over his sheets. Harley handed her an empty piece of paper - making sure anything important was out of reach of her pen - and she immediately started scribbling.

Stephen’s insistence that something was wrong, had watered the small sprout of doubt in his chest. It started to bloom, distracting him from his work and making worry course through his veins. He had felt something was off when William had left, and more and more he was starting to believe his instincts had been right.

Ten minutes later, he was done with his homework, and he got up to combine everything in his binder and stuff it back into his bag.

Seeing him move and clean everything up, Val closed the pen and reached her hands out. “Tell Will now?”

Apparently, drawing hadn’t been enough to distract her from her main goal. Sighing, Harley guessed there was no way refusing without having to admit to himself that he was avoiding William, so he picked his sister up and placed her on his hip.

Val, clearly content he wasn’t preoccupied anymore, immediately started babbling at him, telling him about all they’d seen at the Smithsonian - Harley only understood half of it, but it wasn’t hard to pretend when needed.

He walked from the stairs into the kitchen, a furtive glance showing the Avengers in their usual stations around the living room. Stephen was cooking as he’d said, and though he was still clearly in the early stages of preparing the meal, it already smelled amazing.

Tony was sitting at the kitchen table, keeping Stephen company while giving Lucy her bottle. Both parents looked up when Harley and Val entered.

“Hey, kid,” Tony grinned at Harley, but still looked slightly guilty about not having been able to convince Stephen to let him come on their family outing after all. Stephen looked worriedly at Val, clearly wondering if Val already needed his attention again. When she seemed content on Harley’s hip, his eyes shifted to the teen.

“I know I’m not supposed to leave the floor but can I bring Val to William? She wants to tell him about the trip but he’s still not come upstairs.”

Stephen, undoubtedly noticing the hesitation in his voice, nodded. “You wouldn’t have any idea on why he hasn’t come up, would you?”

Harley shrugged, but having gotten the permission he needed, he turned around and left the kitchen. He felt dumb for even having asked, but he wasn’t going to risk getting grounded an extra week - not for something so stupid, not when he still didn’t know why William was upset with him. Because by now Harley had figured out he must have done something wrong, though he couldn’t figure out what.

He continued responding to Val as they took the elevator down to Wanda and Vision’s floor, but his mind was on the conversation from earlier.

The living room was dark, a stark contrast to that of the penthouse. The sun had started setting about an hour ago, and the light of the elevator ran a pale path onto the floor.

Val held on tighter to his collar, curling into him as he stepped further into the room.

He didn’t bother turning on the light as he crossed the familiar path through the lounge and towards the hallway. Light spilled out from under William’s door as he stopped in front of it.

Suddenly he realized he had no idea what to do. He was certain William was upset with him, but he didn’t know why. How could he apologize when he didn’t even know what he’d done? He couldn’t even gauge how upset William was.

Val, either not noticing his hesitation or tired of waiting, leaned forward and knocked her tiny wrist onto William’s door. The sound was tiny and dull, but it cut through the silence like a knife, anyway.

The door opened, showing William against the light of his bedroom. His hair was dented as if he’d slept on it, and he blinked at them in surprise.

Valerie was already reaching out her hands, and William - moving as if on instinct - took her over from Harley.

“I-,” Harley started, frowning before clearing his throat. There’s no reason he needed to be weird. William clearly looked fine, and he wasn’t shooting daggers at him with his eyes so clearly, he wasn’t angry, right? He’d probably just been asleep and hadn’t heard FRIDAY, so he continued matter-of-factly. “Valerie wanted to tell you about the trip.”

“Oh,” William asked feebly, shifting Val so he could look at her as he took a step back into his room. “You do? What did you see?”

Harley was about to leave - having finished his mission - when he stopped himself. His initial assessment had been right - he hadn’t been glaring at him - but that was because he had barely looked at him at all. The only time he’d got a clear look at William’s brown irises was when he’d first noticed Harley at his doorstep. But he’d quickly recovered from his shock and focussed solely on Val, not even sparing Harley a second glance.

The usual ease between them was gone. Warmth no longer radiated off of William like he was the sun to Harley’s planet. Harley felt it like a stab to his chest, like he’d suddenly lost a limb he hadn’t even known he’d had.

He looked back over towards the other teen. He’d moved to sit on his bed with Val as Harley had earlier, the two talking animatedly about the museum trip William had missed out on.

Maybe that was it? Maybe William felt angry because he’d had to give up his trip just because Harley had gotten himself in trouble. Because he felt like he owed it to Harley to stay behind too. Maybe William regretted being his friend in the first place - being friends with someone brash and impulsive who often didn’t think before speaking.

It was so different from William’s peaceful and calming nature, after all.

The thought filled him with incredible sadness - the kind of sadness that occupied your entire chest, leaking down into your limbs and making your nerves tingle like a negative charge. The kind of sadness that was almost like grief - losing something that you only ever thought you had, finding out everything you knew and cared about was an unsustainable fantasy.

“Dinner should be ready in half an hour,” Harley spoke, voice quiet, before leaving. William hadn’t looked up from Val, but Harley had seen him nod in acknowledgment. He guessed he didn’t have the right to ask for more.

^^^^^^^^

“Did you figure out what’s wrong?” Tony asked, handing over their sleeping infant. Stephen took her into his arms, holding her against his chest almost like comfort. He pressed a grateful kiss against Tony’s lips, and send a thank you up to the heavens that Lucy didn’t fuss about being taken from her daddy.

He sat down on the couch next to his husband, leaning into him. Tony’s good arm wrapped around his shoulders, pulling him even closer.

“Neither of them will talk.” Stephen tried not to pout, but Tony must have noticed it anyway as he smirked before kissing it from his lips.

“You can’t fix everything, tesoro. Mama bear needs to let them fight their own battles.”

“They’re just stubborn,” Stephen grumbled, “they get that from you.”

Tony spluttered, his arm tightening around Stephen’s shoulders momentarily. “Why is this on me all of a sudden? They’re stubborn in their own unique ways!”

Stephen huffed and rolled his eyes, but a smile tugged at his lips and he leaned further against Tony. He yawned, which wasn’t unexpected.

Living with a newborn - they should try and get as much sleep as possible, not take their entire family on outings to the Smithsonian. Lucy, though a heavy sleeper, didn’t sleep through the night yet. Stephen could catch naps along with their daughter during the day - Wong already used to taking over his responsibilities every few months - but Tony couldn’t.

“We should go to sleep,” he mumbled against Tony’s shoulder. He hadn’t even noticed his head had fallen onto Tony’s shoulder, his eyes closing. There was no response from next to him, but Stephen could feel his chest moving up and down with the steadiness of sleep.

^^^^^^

Harley, to his great annoyance, couldn’t sleep.

The room was dark, his bed incredibly comfortable, and yet, sleep wouldn’t come for him. His thoughts kept wandering off, racing through his head, and sending alternating waves of guilt and panic through him.

He kept seeing William in his mind’s eye - which wasn’t anything new, really. He was used to being plagued by images of him whenever he closed his eyes. But usually, the images were soothing and kind, showing the sparkle in William’s eyes or the tilt of his lips, the way his smile lit up his entire face.

Now, they were angry and harsh, playing into his fears that he’d hurt William, that he’d ruined something incredibly precious in his life. What if it couldn’t be undone? If William was sick of him forever. Had he been more annoyed with his teasing earlier than he’d let on or had Harley just missed it? What if William didn’t even like him at all? That Harley had simply mistaken his politeness for friendship and ignored all the signs that William felt forced and uncomfortable to be around him.

He’d already gotten up to grab a snack earlier, but he hadn’t felt like eating. There wasn’t anything left to do but try to sleep, and yet he couldn’t.

Sighing, he got up, throwing his sheets off of him. He pulled on a sweater against the chill running in his bones despite the controlled temperature of the tower.

Contrary to earlier when Harley had gone to the kitchen, his parents’ door was closed and the living room was empty. They must have woken up earlier and traded the couch for their bed. Just as well, Harley thought as it made it easier to sneak towards the elevator.

He made the same way down as he had earlier, the Maximoff living room just as dark and empty. The only difference now was that there was no light shining out from underneath William’s door.

This time, he knocked before he could stop himself, unable to rely on his baby sister to take the step for him, and hoped the noise wouldn’t wake up the other habitants of the floor.

It didn’t take long for the door to open, followed by the whispered hissing of his name. “What are you doing here?”

Harley tried to focus on his tone, trying to gauge if he was angry or not. He merely sounded confused, to Harley, but he wasn’t sure how reliable his assessments were anymore.

“Hi,” Harley started, feeling incredibly self-conscious as he tugged at his sleeves. He searched the darkness for William’s eyes, but they were unreadable in the night. He’d apologized a million times before, but this felt different, somehow. More serious in a way that had never been applicable before. Whenever he’d done something incredibly bad, he had to be the one to fix it. Only he could make amends, leaving the controls to him.

Now, it took two to tango. The direction of the conversation was just as much up to William as it was up to him, and whether or not William forgave him depended on him. Leaving out the fact that he still didn’t really know what he’d done.

“I’m sorry,” Harley whispered, unsure as to where to look, “I- I admit I don’t exactly know what I did … but I’m sorry. I don’t- I don’t want you to hate me.”

The space was silent for a terrifying breath, every second of its expanse tearing at his heart, like sheets of ice sliding over his skin. Harley shivered again.

William took a soundless step back - Harley had only noticed it cause he’d been staring down at the ground, had watched his feet retreat. The shift in darkness didn’t make him look up, but a second later a hand was on his arm.

William grabbed onto his elbow and pulled him further into the room, the door closing soundlessly behind them.

Harley looked up at him in question. But before he could open his mouth, William was right in front of him. His arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him into a hug.

Startled, Harley’s hands moved up, landing uncertain on William’s lower back. His heart jumped pleasantly, and without meaning to he pressed further into the hug, searching out the scent of rain and vanilla in William’s neck.

Suddenly, Harley felt exhausted, a strange contrast to how wired he’d been earlier. Still, he didn’t feel like letting go of William, and luckily the other teen didn’t seem inclined to either.

Eventually, though, William pulled back, though Harley thought he looked reluctant while doing so. He, himself, dropped his hands to his sides as if burned the moment William was pushing away.

He wasn’t sure where the hug had come from, but he didn’t want to push his luck - especially when he apparently couldn’t trust his senses at all. He’d been so certain William was upset, so why had he hugged him? It didn’t make any sense.

“I don’t hate you at all, idiot,” William whispered. Harley’s eyes had adjusted to the darkness, but William’s features were still vague. His eyes seemed to sparkle in the dark, however, and Harley thought he could see William smile in that soft way of his.

“You don’t?”

“Of course not,” William reassured him, though he seemed more hesitant now - as if he was holding back something still.

“So you don’t hate me?” Harley asked, his face pinched. “But you are mad at me?”

William was smiling now, Harley could see the flash of his teeth. His finger came up to touch Harley’s cheek, so lightly and quickly that Harley wondered if he’d imagined it.

“You’re pouting,” William explained, smile clear in his voice.

“Sorry,” Harley murmured quickly, feeling his cheeks light up pink. “So why are you angry?”

William sighed, his shoulders drooping. Harley regretted having ruined William’s smile, but he needed to know. He could pretend everything was fine, move on and bask in William’s smile, but the risk would remain too high that he’d end up making the same mistake.

He stepped back until he could sit down on his bed, grabbing Harley’s arm to pull him back and down with him. Harley did as ordered, sitting on the edge as he glanced down at where William’s hand was yet to let go of his wrist.

When he didn’t, Harley shifted his hand until their palms slit together, loosely locking their fingers together. Their shoulders and legs were already pressed together.

Glancing back up at William, he noticed the other’s face was closer than he’d expected it to be, startling him slightly, his breath catching in his throat.

He could tell William swallowed before he glanced down at their linked hands. It seemed to give him the confidence he needed to say what he needed to say.

“It’s dumb but…,” William hesitated, gaze fixed on the dark carpet. Harley squeezed his fingers to encourage him - he didn’t feel like he’d be able to talk right now. Even whispering seemed intrusive to the moment. “Do you really think I’m lame.”

It was such an unexpectedly silly question, Harley couldn’t hold back a snort. He moved his free hand to cover his smile, but the damage was already done.

William groaned leaning down to rest his elbow on his lap and his head in his hands. He tried to pull free from Harley’s grip, but Harley held on tighter. “I told you it was dumb-“

“No! I’m sorry!” Harley reassured him, his humor and relief quickly fading as he squeezed tighter around William’s hand. His free hand moved from his face to William’s shoulder, trying to get him to show his face again.

He rested his chin on top of his hand, looking out over William’s shoulder as he tried to collect his words, leaning his head against William’s in hope of reassuring him further. “I don’t think you’re lame at all. What makes you think so?”

That got William finally pulling himself up again, so quickly Harley had to lean back lest their heads bumped together.

“Well, you said so.”

Harley stilled, freezing as he stared at William. “Oh,…”

So he had messed up after all. Had been careless and stupid and had almost missed losing a friend over it.

“I- I truly am sorry. I didn’t mean it.” Harley bowed his head again, suddenly not feeling like he deserved to be holding William’s hand. He couldn’t let go though, instead - nonsensically - he traced William’s nails with his fingers.

William’s hand spasmed around his, pulling away from Harley’s trailing fingers but staying firmly locked around his left palm. “That tickles.”

“Sorry,” Harley said again, and this time he smiled sheepishly.

“You’re forgiven.” The smile was back in William’s voice and as Harley still watched his finger trace over their locked hands, William’s head tilted hesitantly, coming to rest on Harley’s shoulder. The air around them softened like a sigh, even though Harley felt like he was holding his breath.

He leaned in to rest his head on William’s, basking in their proximity. It felt safe in the dark, isolated, and hidden, like it was all just a shared dream.

“So you don’t mind when I don’t want to do things?”

A smile pulled at Harley’s lips, shaking his head. William could surely feel the movement against his crown. He wanted to joke that without William he’d already be kicked out, but Harley stopped himself, not wanting to possibly trigger William’s fears even though they seemed to have eased over the last few months. “To the contrary. You keep me sane.”

#harliam #harley keener #billy kaplan #William kaplan #mama bear Stephen strange #mama bear au #harley keener x William kaplan #harley keener/William kaplan #elisaphoenix

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elisaphoenix13 · 4 years

Text

William: Do I ever cross your mind?

Harley: No.

William: Oh...

Harley: You stay on it.

#harliam #harley keener #william kaplan #chat

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elisaphoenix13 · 4 years

Text

Mama Bear Drabble 39

Drabble prompt: “These people are my family, and if you hurt them in any way – I will kill you.”

By: @siriuslycloudy2 (posted with permission).

William glares down at his phone. All day he and Harley have been texting back and forth, sending stupid memes and pictures of random things. It had been 15 minutes since the last message he sent and so far he could tell that Harry had seen it but was not responding. He was starting to get worried that he was bothering Harley.

He looks back up at the TV screen where he and Thomas were watching a movie but he couldn't focus. He glances back down at his phone and sees the dots that indicate Harley was typing. He smiles softly because maybe Harley wasn’t sick of him after all. When the message comes through through it doesn’t make sense. “Herdlpd”, what the??

“Hey, look at this weird message Harley sent me?” Thomas looks over at his brother phone and a tremor of unease goes through him.

“That’s not normal.”

The twins look at each other and both are fearful for the others in the lab. They aren’t sure why because nothing seems out of the ordinary but something is wrong and they can sense it.

“Friday, can you see what is going on in the lab?” William asks the AI quietly.

“Here is a feed of the lab currently.”

A video appears on the screen and both boys can tell something is wrong. Harley and Peter are standing in front of Tony who is holding the girls behind his back. They are all staring angrily and scared at the front of the room. Where a man is visible in a Stark Industries lab coat, pointing a gun at the family.

“No!” The twins shout and jump to their feet.

“We have to do something. If you can portal us in, I can run out before he sees me and you can get his attention. You’ll have to make sure to shield yourself just in case but once you have his attention I can get a repulsor to Tony and Peter's web shooter to him and they can take him down.”

“I don’t know if I can make a shield. I’ve learned how to do it but I haven’t been able to actually do it.”

“Can you try? And I’ll try to get Tony’s repulsor to him as quickly as I can.”

“I’ve got to try. I won’t let anything happen to him. To them.” He corrects with a blush.

“Oh shut up, we all know that you have a crush on Harley.”

“I do not!”

“You totally do. But we don’t have time for this right now. Now let’s go.”

William nods and prepares himself. He opens a portal and barely glimpses Thomas running through before he works on building a shield.

“These people are my family, and if you hurt them in any way – I will kill you.”

The man in the lab coat turns and he sees that it is an intern that was working with Tony on a few projects. “No you won’t. Because I’m going to kill Tony Stark before any of you brats can do a thing.”

“Yeah, I don’t think so.” William hears distantly.

He’s never had a gun pointed at him before and he is terrified. But he manages to build a pretty decent shield before he hears a ‘thwip’ and a gunshot. The bullet ricochet's harmlessly off his shield and falls to the ground. He looks up at the man that was threatening him and his family and he is wrapped up like a spider snack, hanging from the ceiling. He drops his shield and grunts when he is nearly tackled to the ground. He wraps his arms around Harley as tightly as he can, his heart is still pounding but at least now he knows everyone is safe.

After a few beats he loosens his hold on Harley and looks up at him. Harley is staring down at him intensely. His eyes flick to the other boys lips, and he knows he wants to kiss him. As he starts to lean up on tiptoes to do so, he feels another presence at his back and suddenly he is in a giant group hug from Tony, Harley, Peter, the girls, and Thomas.

Once they all separate, Tony pulls the twins to him. “Kids. That was insanely stupid. And also insanely brave. Thank you for doing that but please never do that again. I thought I was going to have another heart attack when he shot at you William.”

Tony pulls the two into another bruising hug before moving away to deal with the intern. The kids move off to the side and begin checking everyone over and recounting what happened. Peter and Thomas are talking while Dia is trying to keep Valerie calm. Harley and William are standing side by side. Arms brushing before Harley reaches out and grabs Williams hand, intertwining their fingers.

William has never been so scared as he was staring at that gun, but now, he thinks he would do it 100 times more just to save his family.

#ironstrange #tony stark #supremefamily #mama bear au #william kaplan #thomas shepherd #harliam #drabble

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funkylittlebidiot · 4 years

Link

#harliam #harley keener #im 3 #fanfic #billy kaplan #William kaplan #mama bear au #harley x william #Peter parker #cassie lang #spidersting

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funkylittlebidiot · 4 years

Link

Please join me in Harliam hell heaven. Pairing: Harley Keener/Billy Kaplan Rating: T Words: 3280 Status:1/1

Once again based off of @elisaphoenix13‘s Mama Bear Stephen AU

#Harley Keener #billy kaplan #mcu #marvel #mama bear Stephen strange #harliam #William kaplan #fanfic #oneshot #mama bear au

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elisaphoenix13 · 4 years

Text

Mama Bear Drabble 40

Drabble prompt: “Do you want a bedtime story?”

By: @funkylittlebidiot (posted with permission)

He wasn’t sure how he’d become Val’s best friend - or well, he knew how it had happened - he just still couldn’t believe he’d ended up here. How had he become one of the few trusted enough to take care of the baby of the family?

He didn’t mind of course. He liked hanging out with Val. She was quiet and gentle and taking care of her was really soothing.

Val also liked to cling, which was doing wonders for William’s touch deficiency.

She was hanging onto him now, pout on her face as she dug her fingers into his shirt and buried her face into his shoulder.

“Sorry, I’m late, Val.” William mumbled to her, wrapping his arms more firmly around her.

He didn’t mention that if he’d known Stephen would have to spend the night away, he would have made sure to reschedule the meeting with his project partner.

As it was, it was almost nine, Val refusing to go to sleep unless he - or usually Stephen - put her to bed.

“You could have called me,” he quietly told Tony, who smiled and waved him off.

“Staying up an extra hour won’t kill her,” he shrugged, clearly tired with his head draped over the back of the couch. “Maybe then she’ll wake up later too.”

William smiled. “I won’t count on it.”

Tony sighed loudly, rubbing his eyes.

“I know,” he groaned as he pulled himself off the sofa, ruffling William’s hair and pressing a kiss to Val’s head on his way by. “Better go to bed early; I’m exhausted. Yell if you need something, though.”

“Good night.” William said as he moved with Val to her room next to her parents’.

Dia was already there, reading a book in her bed. It was passed her bedtime too by now, but she never went to sleep before Val.

It was for the best, as they’d probably end up waking her anyway.

Val was already prepped for bed, so William just tucked her in and sat down next to her. “Do you want a bedtime story?”

It was a rhetorical question, as the answer was the same every night, but William smiled as Val still nodded her head enthusiastically.

“You want to listen too?” He asked as he turned towards Dia, who was watching them curiously, book already halfway closed. She nodded and closed the book after dog-earing a page.

William motioned for her to come over and she smiled before jumping out of bed, sitting down next to William. He put an arm around Dia, and she pulled her feet onto the bed as well.

He started his story, and continued solely for Dia after the four-year-old had fallen asleep, clutching Mooey against her chest.

“There you are.”

William looked up at the familiar voice, finding Harley standing in the doorway smiling down at him.

Shushing Harley, he tried to look stern, but failed miserably. He hadn’t seen Harley all day, and being around him now felt like every muscle in his body finally relaxed. Harley stepped closer, picked up Dia who’d fallen asleep against William’s side and dropped her in her own bed. He was sure to tuck her in and press a kiss against her forehead, which William knew he would refuse to admit to if she were awake.

William waited at the door, switching off the lights once Harley joined him.

As soon as the door closed behind them, Harley was pulling William into a hug. William sighed at the contact, feeling like he’d just gotten home from spending five months in the desert.

Harley’s arms were firm around him. William held on just as tightly and, once again, he wondered how he’d gotten so lucky.

#mama bear au #william kaplan #tony stark #valerie stark strange (oc)#diana stark strange (oc)#harley keener #harliam #drabble

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elisaphoenix13 · 4 years

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Mama Bear Drabble 44

Drabble prompt: “I’ve got you. It’ll be okay.”

By: @funkylittlebidiot (posted with permission).

It wasn’t often William dreamed.

He was too light a sleeper, too used to sleeping around strangers he didn’t trust.

Even after months at the tower, in the most comfortable bed he’d ever slept in - massive, but seemingly small in the room he got to call his own - he still rarely slept deep enough to dream.

Or maybe he just couldn’t remember his dreams; however that worked. He knew he’d read once, that everyone dreams every night, and that it’s just a case of whether or not you could recall them.

If that were true, then William never remembered.

It was for the best.

Perhaps his inexperience with dreams was why it felt so real to him now; why the thought of it being a dream didn’t even occur.

It should have.

The dream had started too good to be true, which William, in his experience, should have found suspicious.

Yet, William wanted it to be real, so he let it be.

It started off so simple, it could have been any other day.

Or at least any other day since coming to the tower.

He was in the living room, doing something he couldn’t recall as the past became a blur almost instantaneously as if his short-term memory didn’t work.

Yet he did remember Harley coming in as he always did - devilish smile and eyes like a brewing storm, carrying with him a charge of electricity, the air crackling with every glance, every word, every touch.

Harley leaned down to kiss him as he approached, and William returned it like it was natural - a habit - held onto the kiss as if he deserved it.

It wasn’t. He didn’t. Yet, this version of him didn’t seem to realize that.

He didn’t remember how that had transitioned into his bedroom at one of his old foster homes - one of the worst ones. He couldn’t say whether it had gone straight from Harley’s smile to the snarl of his foster parent or if there had been a gradual change from great to terrible that had been lost to his memories.

But he was there.

The horrible brown of the cracked wallpaper, the claustrophobia from the bunk beds shoved into the tiny room, … - even the faces of the other children as they cowered away under the blankets, or peaked in from the hallway; glad to see someone punished that wasn’t them.

They didn’t need to fear it here, though, most kids would soon learn, as the attention all but went to William.

To some, the home might have been one of the better places. The ‘parents’ let them be as long as they didn’t bother them in turn and the government checks kept coming in.

To William, it was hell.

Because it seemed like William’s mere existence counted as a ‘bother’ to them.

William wasn’t stupid. As much as Thomas had tried to shield him from it, he knew he was a ‘difficult’ placement. Thomas might be labeled a ‘though case’, a ‘runaway’ or ‘delinquent’, but William didn’t need a label to be seen as different.

He’d long since learned to be at peace with that.

Yes, it sucked to be bullied, looked down upon, degraded, …but he wasn’t alone. There had been others on the streets that had been just like him.

And with literally nothing to lose, he’d realized he still had a brother who loved him unconditionally and his pride.

And now a whole family where acceptance wasn’t even a question.

Yet, standing in this room, the face he’d tried to forget for so long in front of him, made him feel like he was twelve years old again. Once again he was a kid, just trying to survive and figure himself out.

There was so much William had seen by now - pain, destruction, the literal end of the world… yet this was what he dreamt of.

He flinched as Gabe’s mouth moved, and even though no noise seemed to filter through, William knew he was yelling. It was clear from the way his face distorted, the harsh movements of his mouth forming angry lines all over his face.

William had gotten pretty good at figuring out micro-expressions, finding the tiniest signs of anger - annoyance, distaste, hatred - quickly so he could undo the damage, become more obedient.

But if micro-expressions were a whisper, this was Times Square at New Year's Eve. He didn't need to try to receive the message loud and clear, knew he was way past adapting. He had missed his window to run and hide, so all that was left was to take it and hope to survive.

Cowering under his gaze was an instinct William apparently still hadn’t managed to shake, curling into himself as if that would make him a smaller target.

He didn’t remember anything special from his dream after that, only fear. He remembered the shivering, the pain in his chest, and the tears streaming down his face. He recalled the way self-hatred charged him like an old friend, wrapping him up and clinging on tightly.

All the while Gabe seemed to be getting bigger and bigger in front of him - either that or he was getting smaller, weaker, more alone.

His fear crescendoed along with it, switching over to panic as he felt himself breathe heavier, his ears ringing as his name was yelled, and finally - William had known it inevitable - the beating started, and -

He could feel himself wake up, jumped up and thrashed out, could feel the shift from dream to reality like breaking the surface after drowning for an hour. But grasping for air he could still feel hands on him, his name still being called.

Gabe was here, he had to be. Or he was still there, still trapped in that house, the real dream his perfect family.

Yet the voice didn’t sound like Gabe - nor did it feel like it. It felt calming, soothing, and familiar in a good way. The voice was babbling quietly, not yelling, and with every steadying breath, William forced himself to take, the words filtered through his muddled brain.

“It’s okay,” the voice said. Arms wrapped around his shoulder, a touch still so intimately foreign that William allowed himself to relax into it. “I’ve got you. It’ll be okay.”

Breath by breath William regained more of his senses, his fear being soothed as with every second his dream faded into oblivion. His eyes caught the darkness of his tower bedroom, but he was sitting on the floor instead of his bed.

With a spike of his heart rate - for once pleasant instead of in fear - he recognized Harley as the one holding him, soothing him. William blamed the rush of relief and the remnants of fear for him pushing further into Harley's embrace, asking for more than he was allowed by turning his head so he could bury it in Harley’s neck.

Harley didn’t protest; instead, he wrapped his arms around him more tightly, applying more pressure to ease his nerves.

The soothing smell of coffee, mixed with a hint of mint, was a blessing to him, keeping him firm and happy in its embrace, almost enough to drag him off to sleep again.

Yet, the lingering remnants of fear stopped him.

Forcing himself to pull back, he looked up at Harley, and finally, his senses fully returned to him.

“How- What are you doing here?”

Harley chuckled, glancing down at his lap almost bashfully.

“More like what are you doing here?” He asked in turn. His tone was soft, as talking in hushed voices was the norm in the dark, yet William could still clearly hear the soft teasing in his tone. “You must have teleported here in your sleep as I woke up with you on my floor.”

Oh. Glancing around the room, William indeed noticed clear differences to his room. The rooms at the tower were all pretty similar at the base, and though it was dark, he could see Harley’s sheets looked black instead of white. William didn’t have a carpet like the one they were sitting on, and he only had one bookcase where he could now see the outline of two.

It was William’s turn to look down in embarrassment, glad the dark covered up the flush in his cheeks. His fingers started twitching in his lap.

Subconscious teleporting wasn’t uncommon for him, as he’d never had anyone teach him how to control his powers. It’s why he was glad he rarely dreamt.

For all he still remembered of his dream, the strongest memory was wishing to be back with Harley.

It seemed his brain had complied, though not in the way he’d anticipated.

“I’m sorry,” William mumbled, shifting away from the boy next to him. “I didn’t know - I’m sorry if I woke you.”

“Hey,” Harley was frowning, William could tell despite the darkness, and he reached out to him, hand hovering over William’s arm. “I don’t mind. You can stay if you want…or we can go to Mom and Dad’s room if you prefer.”

“I don’t want to bother them.”

“You’re not a bother. They won’t mind.”

I just want to be around you.

“I don’t want to wake anyone else,” William opted again, shaking his head. “I’m fine, really.”

“You can still stay here, then.”

William didn’t know what to answer. He wanted it, yes, but saying it aloud felt forbidden, expressing a want unthinkable. Luckily, his body answered for him, nodding his head almost imperceptibly.

“Perfect,” Harley stated, the decision final. William didn’t dare hope he heard Harley’s smile in his voice.

They stayed on the ground - the carpet soft and comfortable enough - but Harley did pull his blanket and pillows down. He wrapped his blanket around both of them as he talked, distracting him from his thoughts and forming an escape from his dreams.

His nightmare was quickly fading from his memories, though he held on to the first part, clinging on to the feeling of dream!Harley’s lips on his.

#harliam #william kaplan #harley keener #mama bear au #drabble

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